


The Intern

by FirstOrderGeneral14 (Cara_2886)



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Genius Peter Parker, Genius Tony Stark, Interns & Internships, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Mess, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Precious Peter Parker, Stark Industries, Super Soldier Serum (Marvel), Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:27:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28056867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cara_2886/pseuds/FirstOrderGeneral14
Summary: Julia Jones is smart. So smart, in fact, that she manages to earn an internship at Stark Towers.And she'd dreading it.She can't trust herself to not create something terrible. She's terrified that she'll create the next Ultron.So when she becomes Tony Stark's personal intern, can she resist the temptation of developing a new version of the super soldier serum? And if she doesn't, is she responsible enough to know how to use it?
Relationships: Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1: The Move

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!! This is my first Marvel fic! Please give me feedback!  
> Also, just so you know, there will be no starker in this story. Peter already has developed a strong father-son relationship with Tony at this point. This story takes place after Homecoming.  
> Also, warning for language!

“Come on, you know how amazing this opportunity is! This is a once in a lifetime chance, I can’t believe you’re even thinking of turning it down!” Julia’s mother exclaimed as she packed up boxes of clothes. “This could turn into something great!” Julia sighed, tired from having heard the same thing twenty times that day. She knew that her mother was right, but still, she was… hesitant. Moving halfway across the country was no insignificant choice.

The Jones’ were moving. Moving away from their big house in the suburbs surrounding Atlanta to the bustling streets of New York City. Julia was no stranger to the city; she lived just 25 minutes from downtown Atlanta. But she was still used to the quiet the came from living away from the skyscrapers and offices that dominated the downtown area. Now, they were moving to what was arguably one of the top ten largest cities in the world. It was a completely different animal.

And it was all Julia’s fault.

Well, really, it was her calculus teacher’s fault. Kind of. Ms. Hill was Julia’s favorite teacher. Her class was fun, too, although it was a little too easy for Julia’s taste. Granted, all her classes were easy. That was part of the reason she was moving. 

As she packed away her room, Julia thought of that fateful day.

◂▪▪FLASHBACK▪▪▸

“Julia? Can you stay after for a few minutes?” Ms. Hill asked, not looking up from the papers in her hand.

“Of course,” Julia had immediately responded. She loved Ms. Hill, as she was the only teacher that seemed to realize just how intelligent Julia really was.

“Were you planning on attending the job fair?”

Julia was surprised at the question. “Of course! I have to start somewhere, don’t I? And the job fair is the perfect place to get an internship with a good company.”

“Yes, yes, of course. While you’re there, do me a favor, and ask around for the IRONMADE group, will you? They advertise themselves as hardware producers, and while that is technically correct, it’s also a front. You are familiar with Stark Industries, right?”

Julia felt her blood pumping. Stark Industries? Who didn’t know them! If an employee from SI even came near her high school, Julia would’ve been shocked. They were a good school, sure, but SI only accepted the best for their good internships. And besides, even though SI had stores everywhere, the only jobs those stores offered were nothing special, just like an internship at an AT&T store. And Julia, if she was going to get an internship from SI, wanted it to be something that could actually turn into a future. And that kind of job was definitely not offered at a high school job fair. People would kill for those jobs.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Well, IRONMADE is a way for them to connect with gifted people all over the world. Yes, it produces gadgets and whatnot, but it is also made up of scouts. And they only accept the best. They’re incredibly widespread, at every city or town, constantly looking for new recruits to Stark Industries that might otherwise have been lost. The only way to get in touch with them is by recommendation.”

Ms. Hill handed her an envelope with the Stark Industries seal on it.

“And that’s what I’m giving you right now.”

◂▪▪END FLASHBACK▪▪▸

Julia sighed. She desperately wished she hadn’t said yes.

Instead, she had gone and found IRONMADE, and had met with their scout. She had given them her contact info and had been asked to answer a few questions. When that had been done, the scout had shaken her hand and congratulated her on her acceptance into the program. Julia had asked about what that meant, and right now, she really wished she hadn’t.

The scout had told her that she was eligible for a few exclusive scholarship programs and job opportunities. And then he had mentioned the lottery.

She had been told it was completely voluntary and random. That if she didn’t want to, she would never have to be affiliated with Stark Industries ever again. But then she had been told that one person would win an internship at Stark Towers. In New York. Working with some of the most intelligent people on the planet. It was a once in a thousand lifetimes opportunity. Without thinking, Julia had asked to be considered.

And here she was, packing her bags to go live in New York City, and work at Stark freaking Towers.

It was a worst-case scenario.

Julia knew exactly how smart she was. And because of that, she knew that no one else could know. Because if other people knew, then suddenly she would owe the world a supposed ‘debt’. She knew that people would try to use her, and Julia didn’t want to live like that. Unfortunately, she might be forced to.

As she lifted the box she’d been packing, she took one last look at her room. It used to be decorated with a grey and light blue theme, but now the pale blue walls were empty. Where the used to be posters, was empty space. Julia wasn’t a sentimental person, but she still felt herself grow slightly sad at the idea of not being able to see her room again.

Julia grabbed the last box and left without a backwards glance.

The rest of the day flew by in a blur. Julia now found herself staring out the car window as they made the long trip to New York. They could’ve chosen to fly, but Julia’s brother, Ben, had wanted to see D.C. and a few other towns along the way. So here they were.

Julia listened to music for the majority of the drive, trying not to think about what awaited her in New York. If she was being completely honest with herself, she was scared. In the last few years, New York had been the site of an alien invasion, a robotic takeover, and an attempted theft of some of the most dangerous weapons in the world. And with the Avengers still stationed at Stark Towers, there was bound to be more trouble.

Granted, nobody had seen the Rogues for months, so they were out of the picture, but still. Even with half the team there, New York City was probably one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

And it was where her family was moving, all because of her.

Julia had tried to tell her parents that the move wasn’t necessary, that she could rent an apartment and live on her own. 

Of course, seeing as she was barely old enough to drive, it did make sense. But still. Just because she had to completely uproot her entire life, didn’t mean the rest of her family did. Ben was smart, not as smart as her, but more of a stereotypical straight A student. He could have a real future by staying in Georgia. By moving to New York, he would be thrown into a much more academically competitive arena. At least, he would at Midtown High.

Because that was where the internship had recommended them attend to. Midtown School of Science and Technology. It made sense, seeing as Stark Industries was an ex-weapons manufacturing company, and was currently leading in the tech industry. Midtown was a highly respected institution, Julia knew that. It was nice, too.

And that was precisely the issue.

Back in Georgia, Julia had average equipment she could use whenever she built something. Nothing too terrible, but nothing was exactly state-of-the-art. It had put necessary restrictions on her projects. Because Julia knew herself well enough to know that if she had unlimited access to the tools necessary to make what she wanted to make, the world would be a very different place. There had once been a very close call with an AI she had created, which had only been stopped because her laptop didn’t have enough computing power. The next day the Ultron fiasco had happened. She had ‘accidentally’ spilled coffee on her laptop the very next day.

Julia was very familiar with that kind of near miss. She was impossibly smart, but that also meant that she sometimes didn’t think about the consequences of scientific and technological advancements. She liked to say that it was all for the greater good, but that only made her feel better about what she was doing. Because she never knew when to stop. And if she couldn’t stop herself, someone, or something else, would have to.

And that safeguard put in place by her lack of proper resources was not going to be there in New York.

Julia wasn’t scared for herself.

She was more scared of herself, more than anything.

◃▪◉TIMESKIP◉▪▹

When the city first came into view, Julia was speechless. Sure, visits to downtown Atlanta were staples of the weekends, but this was different. It was so much bigger. The city was so alive. It was incredible.

When she first saw the Tower, she let out a small gasp. The Tower itself was giant, and sure, she had seen it in pictures, but that was nothing compared to the real thing.

And to think that it was completely cut off from the city’s power grid was amazing, too. That was what really stunned Julia. She knew all about the arc reactor, everyone did. But this was different. This could really be something. It was well-known that SI was revolutionizing green energy, but to see it in person was awe-inspiring. 

“See Julia? Isn’t it amazing? You’ll get to work there! How incredible is that?”

And the moment was broken. She knew her father was just trying to make her feel better, but it wasn’t helping. It only served to remind her that she was going to have almost unlimited access to whatever tools or tech she needed. And that was not good.

As they pulled up to their new apartment building, Julia was trying to warm up to her new reality. Her new apartment was nice, she had seen the pictures. Her school would hopefully be more suited to her than her old one. And now she had an internship that most adults would kill for. Her life was great.

That’s what she kept telling herself.

◃▪◉TIMESKIP◉▪▹

It was her first day at Midtown.

The day had started out average enough. She ate her normal breakfast of a piece of toast and a glass of milk. She grabbed a water bottle and filled it with coffee (was it technically not allowed? Maybe, but a girl needs her coffee, and she’d figured out this trick back in middle school). She had thrown on some distressed jeans (she knew those were a new trend) and a vintage Star Wars tee, and a pair of black Vans. It was casual enough and would hopefully not draw much attention. But the Star Wars shirt would hopefully be a good conversation starter.

Yes, today would be a normal day.

She didn’t have to worry about her internship until Friday, which gave her the perfect amount of time to scope out her school first.

Her father drove her to school in their grey Yukon, which hopefully seemed normal enough at a school with the tuition fee this one had. It certainly hadn’t been back in Georgia. But things were different here. When she saw a kid that looked around her age pull up in an $85,000 Audi 8, she realized just how right she was.

She walked through the front doors and made her way to her homeroom without an issue.

Her first class was AP Calculus, which was supposed to be her hardest class as a sophomore. She went through the awkward ‘And class please welcome our new student Julia’ to the class thing quickly. And even though she was starting the class halfway through the year, Julia was able to comprehend the lesson immediately, and frankly, still found it to be far too easy.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Until fifth period, that was.

“So, you’re the new girl, huh? The name’s Flash, Flash Thompson.”

Julia looked up and saw a boy holding out his hand. “Julia,” she said as she hesitantly shook his hand.

“Listen sweetheart, there are a few things you need to know about this place.” Flash sat down in the seat in front of her, shooing the girl who had initially gone to sit there away. That set off a small red flag in Julia’s head.

“Just like any other high school, there are different kinds of people here, but the stereotypes are the same. I can show you who to hang you with, and how to avoid the hopeless nerds and dweebs. And if you couldn’t already tell, I’m kind of a big deal here.”

Julia narrowed her eyes. She realized that this was the kid with the Audi from earlier. A skinny brown-haired kid walked into the class. Julia wouldn’t have noticed him if Flash didn’t immediately point him out. 

“For example, that over there is Penis Parker. His real name is Peter, but everybody calls him Penis. He’s a loser, and definitely not someone like you want to hang with. He’ll probably tell you that he has an internship at Stark Industries, but that’s bullshit. Everyone knows they don’t accept high schoolers, and he’s just trying to seem cool. He’s a total nerd, lives with his aunt because his parents and uncle died. Don’t waste your time with him, ‘kay gorgeous?”

Julia considered Peter. She was pretty sure they had their first three classes together. He looked tired. She looked back at Flash.

“Actually, I think the one I need to ‘not waste my time with’ is you.”

“Aw, come on, darling. Think this through.”

“I did. My parents taught me to think before I speak, so when I call you an asshole, rest assured that I thought it through, asshole.”

“Well, fuck you too!” He said, storming off. Julia noticed that the class had gone quiet, and that she was getting mixed looks. Some girls looked at her in jealousy, some in awe. The guys Flash had retreated to glared at her, but the rest were giving her looks of respect.

Julia ignored them all.

As class officially began, and the teacher called out role, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Julia looked behind her to see a girl with curly dark hair and brown eyes. “Hey. The way you just talked to Flash might be one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. It was dope.”

Julia grinned. “Well, like he said, the stereotypes are the same. And he’d a stereotypical asshole.”

“You got that right. I’m MJ,” MJ held out her hand. 

“Julia. Nice to meet you.”

“Same here. Hey, since you’re new, do you want to sit with me at lunch?”

Julia smiled at her. “I’d love to.”

The class seemed to go on forever, but when it finally ended, Julia raced to her locker, eager to get to lunch.

When she entered the lunchroom, she was overwhelmed with the noise, and the people. Julia had never been one for ‘friends’, exactly. While she hadn’t kept her hopes up, she had secretly wished for that to change here.

She saw MJ sitting in the corner with two other boys, waving her over.

As she sat down, MJ introduced the other two. “Guys, this is Julia, the one who called Flash an asshole on her first day. Julia, that’s Ned, and that’s Peter.” Julia smiled and shook their hands. When she made eye contact with Peter, she noticed how apprehensive he seemed. She decided to file that away for later.

At first, it was slightly awkward, until Ned pointed out her shirt, which prompted them to discuss the newest movies until lunch ended. Julia walked to her next class smiling. She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten lunch with people and actually enjoyed it.

When the school bell rang, Julia went to grab a few things from her locker, when she saw Flash heading her way, a murderous look in his eyes. Julia sighed, bracing herself for the interaction.

“Hey! New girl!” he called after her. Julia froze, and slowly turned to scowl at him. 

“What do you want, asshole?”

“What you did back there in fifth period? Not okay. I’m going to make your life a living hell, you stuck-up bitch.” He smiled nastily, as if he had just come up with some clever insult. Julia rolled her eyes.

“O-kay, sure. I’m sooo scared. I mean, whatever am I going to do? It’s not like I literally couldn’t care less about anything you say or think about me. How am I going to survive? Oh, what a shame.” Julia’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. Flash was speechless.

“See you later, asshole!” Julia said, waving cheerily as she passed him.

It was then that Peter fell into step next to her. 

“Hey,” he said, looking at the ground. 

“Hey yourself. Is he always like that?”

“Flash? Oh no, he’s usually more of a douche. When he picks on me, he usually throws a punch or two. But luckily, you’re a girl, and he wouldn’t do that to a girl.” Peter turned red. “N-Not that girls aren’t as strong as men, or anything, um, uh-,” Julia was laughing as Peter stuttered. “I know, Peter. Don’t worry. You’re good. So, do you have anything you do after school? Any clubs or whatnot? I need something to do, or I’ll die of boredom.”

“Um, well, I’m on the decathlon team with Ned and MJ, but that’s it. I have an internship at Stark Industries, so that takes up a good amount of time.”

“Really? I have one, too! That’s actually why I moved. I have no idea what to expect, but I’m really excited! What’s it like? Is there anything I should know before my first day?”

Peter looked shocked. “Wait, you got an internship at the Tower!”

“Yep. Won it in a lottery thing. Of course, it wasn’t all chance, I had good grades and the right qualifications as well, but yeah.”

“Well, that’s awesome! Do you know where you’ll be working in the Tower?”

“No clue. I’m told that I’ll find out on my first day, which is Friday. Maybe I’ll see you there?”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Well, that’s my dad’s car, gotta go. Bye Peter, I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“Bye!”

Julia jumped into her dad’s car. Peter had seemed nervous at lunch, but now appeared downright distressed.

He’s hiding something. I just have to figure out what, Julia thought.

She spent the rest of the day researching Stark Industries, hoping to find out some sort of clue as to what would await her there on Friday. And if there was anything about the place that would make Peter so nervous.

◂▪▪◈PETER’S POV◈▪▪▸

As Julia left, Peter immediately got out his phone. He pressed the call button, and Tony picked up almost immediately.

“Mr. Stark?”

“Hey, kiddo. I’ve told you to stop calling me that. What’s up?”

“Um, well, there’s a slight issue.”

“Are you bleeding in an alley again?”

“What? No! That was just one time!”

“One time too many.”

“Fair point. But no, I’m fine. Well, for now. But not long.”

“Kid, you’re starting to worry me.”

“Do you know about a new intern? From out of state?”

“Underoos, I run a Fortune 500 company, do you expect me to know when we hire a new intern?”

“Well, this is from some talent search program you created, so I figured you might.”

“Oh! You mean IRONMADE? Yeah, hold on, I feel like I vaguely remember choosing someone for an internship at the Tower.”

“…”

“Okay, I’m back. But yes, her name is Julia Jones. Why’d you ask?”

“Because she goes to Midtown. And now she knows I’m an intern. And if she’s smart enough to get a real internship, then she’ll figure out that I don’t have a normal internship. And she might even find out about Spider-Man.”

“Can’t you just avoid her at school?”

“No, she’s actually pretty cool. Called Flash an asshole on her first day. Besides, she’s friends with MJ. I can’t just ignore her if she asks about SI.”

“Well kid, maybe we can work something out.”

“Like what? If you say I’m your personal intern, she’ll start to get suspicious. I’m pretty sure she could tell I was nervous after she said she was interning at SI.”

“What if I made her my personal intern?”

“What?!?”

“Then you could say that you just happened to never run into her. It would be plausible enough. Plus, I could gather info on her in case she finds out about Spider-Man anyways. You’re not that great at keeping secrets, you know.”

“What do you mean, only three people know about Spider-Man!”

“Last week when I took you to get ice cream, you not only bought a disgusting Spider-Man popsicle, the man working asked if you liked Spider-Man and you said, ‘He’s cool, but I have no idea who he is. No clue. Mr. Stark, can we go? I need to swing by my house and get my homework done.’ Don’t worry, I paid him to keep quiet. So, the only people that know are me, Ned, May, and some random ice cream stand worker.”

“Ughhh.”

“Okay, so operation ‘Prepare for blackmail’ is a go.”

“Mr. Stark, please don’t blackmail my classmate.”

“I said what I said. See ya on Saturday, Pete.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally planning on making this one chapter, but it was getting way too long, do I decided to split it into two parts. Anyway, here's chapter two! If you're still reading this, thank you so much for sticking with my story! This is my first Marvel fanfic, and the support means a lot to me!

◂◦◦TONY’S POV◦◦▸

“Hey, FRI, when’s that new intern supposed to start?”

“Tomorrow, sir. I recommend that you go to sleep now, so as to be well rested when she arrives.”

“I know. I’ll go to sleep once I figure out this formula.”

“Sir, that would not be advisable-,”

“FRIDAY, mute.”

◂◦◦JULIA’S POV◦◦▸

“So how was school?”

Julia winced. She’d thought she’d been quiet enough when coming into their apartment in an effort to avoid her mother’s, well, mother hen-ing. She turned around slowly as she made her way to the kitchen.

“It was good.”

“Yeah,” said her mother, enveloping her in a hug the moment she saw her. “What was good about it?”

“Um, well, all my classes were easy.”

“That’s good. Did you make any new friends?”

“I sat with a few kids at lunch who seemed nice. They like Star Wars.”

“That’s great sweetie! What are their names?”

“MJ, Ned, and Peter.”

“What are they like?”

“Um, I don’t really know them that well, Mom.”

“C’mon, if you sat with them, they must have something the kids in Georgia didn’t.” Julia’s mother gave her a look. Julia had always eaten lunch in her old school’s chemistry lab, or the workshop. She had never been able to stand the lunchroom, much less the kids in it.

“I don’t know. I mean, the only reason I sat with them was because MJ invited me to, so…”

“Well, by the end of the week, I want you to be able to tell me three things about each of them.”

“Mom, I’m sixteen. I don’t need you to micromanage my social life. Besides, I’m busy. The Stark internship starts on Friday!”

“And that’s exactly why you should get to know them now! You’ll be even busier once you start working. And you said all your classes were easy, so you can’t say homework is an excuse,” her mother said, seeing the idea on Julia’s face before Julia could actually say it.

“Fine. But I’m only doing two things.”

“That’s okay. I just want you to try. I don’t want you to be completely obsessed with your work like you used to be. You’re young! You should have more fun.”

Julia sent her mother a grin as she walked out of the kitchen, saying, “But working is fun, mother. When will you learn that?”

And with that, she retreated to her room to finish up her homework. And to research Stark Industries, just in case there was something she would need to know for Friday (which may or may not involve figuring out what Peter had seemed so nervous about).

Alas, the only information the website had was basic things Julia already knew, such as their hours (the Tower was open 24/7), products (at this point, it would probably be faster to list what they weren’t selling), and history (including Iron Man, which Julia thought was a bold move. Not everyone loved Tony Stark, although she had always been a huge fan of his scientific papers). The only thing she hadn’t known was that after serving as the sole CEO for a few years, Pepper Potts had decided to take Stark back on as co-CEO. But other than that, Julia hadn’t found anything odd. But Peter had still seemed so on edge. There had to be something she was missing. Maybe a kind of hazing ritual?

Of course, there was always the possibility that Peter didn’t actually have an internship at all, but Julia was good at reading people, and she was pretty sure he hadn’t been lying.

She could be wrong.

But that would be an anomaly.

Julia spent the rest of the night trying to find the missing piece of the puzzle. She only realized how much time had passed when her alarm went off, signifying that she needed to get ready for school.

This was not going to be a fun day, no matter how much coffee she had.

◂◊◊◈◊◊▸

The next few days passed by in a very similar manner to the first. Minus the confrontation with Flash, of course, although she still got dirty looks from him. They only served to satisfy her. Especially after she’d prevented him from giving Peter a black eye, and then proceeded to curse him out in language that would’ve made a sailor proud.

After this, she had earned the respect and trust of not only MJ, but also Ned. Peter still seemed wary of her, for reasons she simply couldn’t figure out. Actually, she couldn’t figure Peter out. She knew that MJ was a sarcastic badass who was secretly a softie. Ned was a nerd who really just wanted to make it to next week and was quite endearing. 

But Peter… she simply couldn’t figure him out. He seemed fairly similar to Ned, but there was something else. Something told her that beneath his science pun t-shirts (which she thought were hilarious) was someone far tougher than he looked. Yet he always let Flash push him around, when Julia was ninety percent sure he could easily beat the kid up. It was strange. She had seen him in gym, and he literally faked being tired. Why would he not use his strength to his advantage?

And how was he so strong in the first place? On Tuesday they had run two miles and he hadn’t even broken a sweat. Not to mention that he’d run impossibly fast, beating everyone. That wasn’t normal. No sixteen-year-old had enough time to go to the gym long enough to be able to do that.

Julia planned on figuring him out by the end of the month.

But other than that, school was incredibly normal. No lab explosions, or projects gone wrong. Just school. And hanging out with her new maybe friends. It was nice. Julia had never understood the term ‘domestic bliss’. She knew some people could derive pleasure from simply living, but not her. She had always felt that she needed something more. But now she understood the appeal of it. And frankly, it almost scared her, how easily she would be able to slip into normality.

But then Friday arrived.

Her first day at Stark Industries.

When she walked up to the building, seeing it close up for the first time, she felt a tumultuous storm of feelings. She felt like coming home, but it was also like visiting an alien planet. It felt like fate, but she also felt like she never should’ve come. But maybe she was just being melodramatic. Maybe she was just nervous.

When she walked in, she wasn’t surprised to see the lobby bustling with people. Some were on guided tours, others looked like they were jus arriving at work. Julia noticed a large area labeled, ‘Study Room’, filled with teens who all appeared to be doing just that, studying. It was all fascinating. 

Julia approached the front desk. There was a woman there whose nametag read, ‘Emma’.

“Excuse me? Miss?”

Emma looked up from the paper currently in her hands. “Yes, how may I help you?”

“My name is Julia Jones. I’m a new intern here.”

Emma seemed surprised. “Really? Wow, you’re rather young, aren’t you? That is rather impressive for someone of your age. Give me one moment while I get your info.”

Julia shifted on her feet. “Are there no other high school interns?”

As she flipped through papers, Emma shrugged. “Maybe a few. But not many. Most are college students who are a part of our outreach programs and scholarships.

Ah, here you are! Julia Taylor Jones, age sixteen? From Smyrna, Georgia? Currently enrolled at the Midtown School of Science and Technology?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Okay, Ms. Jones, you will need to visit the eleventh floor for your assignment. Here is your badge for the elevator. You will need to keep this, as it will be what you use to check into the Tower’s system. Upstairs they will give you an access badge, which will allow you to go wherever you are assigned. Use the elevator in the room behind me. Oh, and don’t be surprised that there aren’t buttons. Mr. Stark’s AI, FRIDAY, operates all the elevators in the Tower. Well, it used to be JARVIS, but we’ve switched to FRIDAY. Got all that?”

“Sounds good. Thank you, Ms. Emma.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

And with that, Emma reached under her desk and pressed a button, and a door (which had definitely not been there before) opened behind her.

“Good luck, Julia.”

“Thanks.”

And with that, Julia got onto the elevator that would determine the rest of her year.

“Hello, Julia Jones, I see you are new to Stark Tower. My name is FRIDAY, Mr. Stark’s personal AI. I am designed to run all functions throughout the building, such as the elevator you are currently in. What floor would you like to go to?”

Julia looked around the elevator in awe as the AI spoke. She wasn’t just some automated, basic response system. Her voice was incredibly human-like. It was very similar to the AI Julia had planned on creating, JANET, but she hadn’t had the computing power to give her emotions. And the fact that she still wasn’t sure how to do that either wasn’t helping.

“Floor eleven. Thank you, FRIDAY, it’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Julia.”

There was a pause as the elevator climbed, and a soft ding announced her arrival.

“Welcome to Floor 11, accessible by white-grade badges. Scanning badge.”

There was another pause before FRIDAY spoke again.

“Julia Jones. Intern. Clearance level white. Welcome.”

“Thanks, FRIDAY. Talk to you later.”

“Goodbye, Julia.”

Julia stepped out of the elevator, badge in hand. There was a terminal to her right labelled, “New Intern Assignments”. She walked over and scanned the white badge. As it loaded, Julia looked around.

The floor looked to be entirely dedicated to interns, with young people in their early twenties bustling around all over the place. There were two offices, with people waiting outside of each. Julia guessed they were the offices of those tasked with managing the interns, giving them work and whatnot.

Julia hoped she’d like them.

She looked back to the screen, which now displayed her assignment.

Julia Jones  
Intern  
Age: 16  
Gender: Female  
Assignment: Floor 89  
Clearance Level: Black and Red  
Description of Assignment: Cannot be accessed on this terminal. Proceed to Floor 89 for further instruction.

She blinked. What the hell? Julia didn’t know much about the how the Tower worked, but she was still certain that no one was allowed on a floor that high as an intern. The terminal proceeded to print out a small badge bordered with black and red. Before she could turn back to the elevator, Julia felt a tap on her shoulder.

“Excuse me? Hi, I’m Vivian, the intern coordinator. It looks like you’re new here! I can help show you to your assignment, unless it’s on one of the lower floors. Given your age, it probably is. They reserve the lower floors for the less…” Vivian looked at her with disdain. “…intellectual interns. The higher the floor, the smarter the people. So why don’t I take you down to, I’m guessing, the fourth floor?”

Julia straightened herself. She really did not like this woman. She had brown hair and appeared to be in her mid-thirties.

“Actually, I’m going up.” Vivian’s eyes narrowed. 

“I highly doubt that. Listen, you’re young, it’s okay that you aren’t as smart as the rest of us.”

“Do you want proof, or can I go to my assignment?”

“There’s no way you’re going up.”

“Fine, I’ll prove it.” And with that, Julia pulled out her badge, making sure that Vivian could clearly see the red and black border.”

“Wha- how?!?”

“Nice to meet you, too.”

Julia stepped into the elevator. 

“Where to, Ms. Jones? And, might I add, that after seeing your interaction with Ms. Vivian, I do think you’ll get along splendidly with sir.”

“'With sir'? I’m assuming there’s more than one person called ‘sir’, because there’s no way I’m going to meet Tony Stark. Who’s ‘sir’?”

“I’m afraid I cannot tell you that.”

“That’s okay. 89th floor, FRIDAY.”

“Sounds great, Ms. Jones.”

“Call me Julia.”

“As you wish, Julia.”

The rest of the elevator side was silent, with Julia constantly examining her badge. Because surely, there had to be some sort of mistake. No intern would get such high-level access, much less on their first day. But when the elevator doors opened and she stepped out, no alarms went off, and no security guards came to apprehend her. Julia was still almost positive this was a prank.

The area before her stretched out into a long hall with two double doors at the end. There was a screen next to each, which Julia was guessing was a handprint-scanner. “Hello?” she called. No one answered. In fact, the hall was completely empty. To her right was another terminal, like the one she had seen downstairs. She walked up to it, recalling what her instructions had been.

Description of Assignment: Cannot be accessed on this terminal. Proceed to Floor 89 for further instruction.

Well, she was on the 89th floor, and there was nothing else she could do. She took her badge and pressed it against the terminal’s scanner. A few moments later, the voice of FRDAY echoed around her. 

“Welcome, Julia. Congratulations on your internship. You are assigned as Mr. Stark’s personal intern. Sir is currently working in his lab. I would suggest you go to him to receive instruction.”

Julia stood there, with her mouth open like a fish. “I-I’m sorry, what?”

“Sir’s lab is just through the doors at the end of the hall. In order to enter, your hands must be scanned. Simply press them against the screen, and you will be let in, as you are already in the system.”

Julia was becoming less certain that this was a prank with every second she was still allowed to be on such a high floor. So, she did as she was told, and walked down the hall until she was facing the doors. She hesitantly pressed her hand to the screen, which proceeded to flash green as the doors swung open. 

She entered the lab.

As she took in the scene before her, she felt like she was in a dream. All around her were light blue holograms, all floating through the air with different things displayed. On some appeared to be parts to some sort of suit (not the Iron Man ones, these appeared to be designed more with enhanced fibers than metal). On others, complex mathematical and chemical equations were shown. It was like a dream.

Julia was in heaven.

Until a loud, “Shit!” echoed throughout the room, startling Julia and breaking the moment.

She turned abruptly towards the sound, peaking her head around the corner of the wall.

And there he was.

The great Anthony Edward Stark himself, sitting in a chair surrounded by holograms, although he only seemed focused on one. It was unreal. 

Julia had, of course, seen the man before, on the news doing interviews, and on the web. Namely, YouTube. He was, after all, one of the richest men alive. Online, he always seemed confident, larger than life, almost as if he were something more than human. He carried around an aura of greatness that was only supercharged by his intellect. Every scientist or engineer or mechanic who knew anything knew about Tony Stark. While most of the world knew him as Tony Stark, CEO of SI and Iron Man, the scientific community knew him as Tony Stark, the Genius.

After all, he was the one responsible for some if SI’s most groundbreaking products. He had revolutionized holographic technology, as well as created the world’s most advanced AI. Not to mention, the arc reactor. The arc reactor was still a marvel to the scientific community. No other group in the world was even close to recreating it. And Tony Stark had managed to do it in a cave in Afghanistan, with a car battery keeping him alive. It was nothing short of remarkable.

Julia was, for once in her life, speechless. 

“Hey FRI, run the sim again, except this time, do it with lithium dioxide.”

“Sir, the only known stable form of lithium dioxide belongs to Nick Fury and SHIELD. We don’t know how to create it.”

“Fuck that! Run the simulation, we’ll figure that out later. I know we can.”

“As you wish, sir.”

Julia was going to introduce herself, really, she was. But when she saw what he was working on, she couldn’t help but try and figure it out.   
It appeared to be some sort of chemical reaction, which was simple enough. The struggle was apparent to her as she read through the compounds being used. It looked to be some sort of serum, and Julia could already guess as to what kind.

Tony Stark was trying to create the super soldier serum.

And she had clearly just walked in on one of his infamous lab sessions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Don't forget to comment and/or leave kudos if you feel this story merits it! Next chapter, we'll get to see Tony and Julia really meet for the first time!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know if you liked it! Please be sure to leave a comment and kudos!


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